1. Autumn Schaffer
Reflection of Story Performance
http://autumnschaffer.pbworks.com/Story-Video
The actual production of the storytelling session was somewhat different than the
atmosphere of the practice sessions. The main difference, I believe, was the simple fact that this
was indeed a production. What happened was what the audience heard; I could not simply start
and stop the way I had in the practice sessions. I will admit, as well, that many of my practice
sessions were interrupted, for I would tell the story to myself whenever I had a free moment. For
this reason I really didn’t know an exact time of how long it took to tell the story from beginning
to finish. Overall, however, I was so comfortable with the events within my story that I was able
to tell it with my own words. During practice sessions I tended to focus more on retelling and
including certain words that were mentioned within the original work. During the actual
production, however, I didn’t have the time to think of such words, so I simply retold the story
from my own perspective. I think this actually turned out rather well, however.
I chose to use visuals within my story, which I think enhanced the production as well as
the understanding of my audience. Beforehand, the class had debated as to whether such visuals
enhanced or took away from the actual oral production of the story. I was careful in using them
so that I told the story and used the visuals to explain to the audience what the characters looked
like. I decided to do this because some of the characters are ocean animals that are not readily
seen by humans. I also “picked” them out of the ocean, one by one as I talked about them, and
placed them onto the back of the hermit crab’s shell, just like in the story. By the end of the
story, the audience could actually see what had occurred as well as recognize all the characters
within the story.
I also chose to begin and end the storytelling session with a discussion as I interacted
with my audience. I used my teaching roots to engage my students into the context of the story
by talking about the ocean and ocean animals. I also prompted them into referencing other books
written by that author. There was some engagement within the story as the students “swayed
back and forth” with the sea anemone. I provided some extra facts as well, including the
starfish’s ability to re-grow arms. At the end of my story I discussed some of the characters and
gave the students an opportunity to share their favorite character within the story. This brought
the story to their own level, which I felt was an appropriate way to end the story. When I asked
them to explain why the students liked that certain character, may of the referenced facts that
were embedded within to the story itself. (One audience member said that she liked the snails
because they were tidy.)
Before the performance began I was slightly nervous. My main worry was whether or not
I was going to be able to remember all of the components of the story. Not that I wanted to
remember every word that I had practiced with, I just wanted to make sure that I told all of the
elements and events in the story in order. If I did not, the story would not flow correctly, and the
outcome of the story would not make clear sense. During the performance, however, I allowed
myself just to tell the story as I remembered it. It seemed almost natural as I added in “teachable
moments” that I had not practiced beforehand. I was rather surprised at how successful I was in
telling the story from the beginning to the end without pausing or re-telling certain sections.